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(No. Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l. H. R. PHILIPPS.

SAFETY SADDLE BAR. No. 345,540. Patented July 13, 1886.

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' (No Model.) '3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. R. PHILIPPS.- I

SAFETY SADDLE BAR.

No. 345,540. Patented July 13, 1886.

(No Model.) a Shet-Sheet 3.

H. R. PHILIPPS. SAFETY SADDLE BAR.

No. 345,540. Patented July 13, 1886.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIce.

HENRY REES-PHILIPPS, OF BIRMINGHAM, COUNTY OF VVARWIOK, ENGLAND.

SAFETY SADDLE-BAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 345,540, dated July 13,1886. Application filed March 19, 1886. Serial No. 197,016. (No model.)Patented in England June 30, 1883, No. 3,250.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY REES-PHILIPPS, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, resid ingat Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, England,accountant clerk, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSafety Saddle-Bars, (for which 1 have received Letters Patent in GreatBritain, N 0. 3,250, dated June 30, 1883,) of which the following is aspecification.

My invention consists in the arrangements or combinations of the partsof safety saddlebars hereinafter described, whereby safety saddle-barsare produced simple in construction and efficient in action.

In constructing a single saddlebar according to my invention I proceedas follows: To the foundation-plate, which is attached by riveting tothe saddle, I connect the saddle-bar by means of a pin fixed near thebottom of the normal position, is nearly, but not quite, horizont-al,the said edge inclining upward from the joint end of the bar. Theextreme free end of the saddle-bar may also be inclined upward withrespect to the upper edge of the bar. The saddle-bar can turn on the pinin the foundation-plate through a semicircle in a forwarddirection-that;is, toward the head of the horse; but its motion in theopposite direction is so limited by stops on the foundation-plate andbar, respectively, that it cannot pass in that direction beyond itsnormal positionthat is, the position in which the upper edge of the baris nearly horizontal.

The action of the parts is as follows: The stirrup-strap is looped tothe saddle-bar in the ordinary way. Should the rider be thrown backward,the loop of the stirrup-strap being pulled ataconsiderable angle withthe top edge of the safety-bar, the said loop slides backward from offthe safety bar, and the thrown rider is immediately liberated from thesaddle. Should the rider be thrown forward, the safetybar is pulled bythe stirrupstrap in that direction by the pressure of the strap upon theunder side and arm of the bar, and, turning upon its pin or center,performs a semi-rotation, and the strap slips from off the said bar. Inconsequence of the inclination to the foundation-plate of the pin onwhich the bar turns the space between these parts increases as the armturns, as already explained, and the wedging of the stirrup-strapbetween the bar and foundation -plate is prevented. Should the rider bethrown across the horse, the rising motion of the stirrup-strap in thatcase lifts the safety-bar, from off which the said strap immediatelyslips. Thus in whatever direc tion the rider .is thrown thestirrup-strap is immediately detached from the safetybar without risk offailure by the wedging of the strap between the parts of the apparatus.

Two safety-bars constructed and mounted in the way described may beemployed in place of the one safety-bar described. In this form of myinvention the two bars are shortened and are'so mounted that they turnon their centers in opposite directions, the free ends of the bars beingpresented to each other when they are in their normal positions, thestirrup'strap bearing on both bars. If the rider is thrown forward, thefront bar turns upon its pin or center and the strap slips off the bars.If the rider is thrown backward, the back bar turns upon its center andthe stirrup-strap slips off the bars. If the rider is thrown across,both bars turn on their pins or centers and the stirrup-strap slips offthem.

I have only referred to the use of my invention on one side of a saddle;but I wish it to be understood that safety saddle-bars made according tomy invention are applied to both sides of the saddle, the arrangement ofthe parts on the different sides of the saddle differing only in therespect in which right and left handed articles or articles used inpairs differ. 1

I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanyingdrawings the manner in which my invention is to be performed. Figure 1represents in front elevation, and Fig. 2 in edge view, a safetysaddle-bar for the near side of the saddle constructed according to myinvention, the said saddle-bar being represented in its normal position.Fig. 3 represents in front elevation the saddle-bar partly turned in aforward direction upon its pin or center. Fig. 4 represents in front elevation, and Fig. 5 in edge view, the safety saddle-bar turned throughabout a semicircle from its normal position to its full forwardposition. Fig. 6 represents an edge view of the safety saddle-bar plateseparably, and Fig. 7 represents an edge view of the safety-barseparately. Fig. 8 represents in front elevation a safety-barconstructed according to my invention to be applied to the off side ofthe saddle. Fig. 9 represents in front elevation, and Fig. 10 in edgeview, a double or compound safety saddle-bar constructed according to myinvention; and Fig. 11 represents a plan of the upper side of the twosafety-bars.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the severalfigures of the drawings.

I will first describe the single safety-bar for the near side of thesaddle.

a is the foundation or bar plate, attached to the saddle by riveting atthe holes I) b. e (Z is the safety saddlebar, connected to the bottom ofthe foundation or bar plate a by the pin 0, upon which the saidsafety-bar turns as a center. The pin 0, on which thesafety-bar turns,has the inclination with respect to the bar-plate a and to the part (1of the safety saddle-bar represented in the drawings. On the bar-plate ais a boss or projectiomf, the outer face of which is inclined, andconstitutes an inclined seat or bearing, against which the inclinedinner face of the part (I of the saddle-bar e (Z seats itself or takes abearing. The inclined pin or center 0 on the part (1 of the saddle-baredis passed through a hole in the boss or seatf on the bar-plate a, andthe inner end of the said pin riveted on a washer let into the saidboss. By jointing the safety saddle-bar e (Z to the bar-plate a in themanner represented it will be seen that when the saddle-bar is in theposition Figs. 1 and 2, it is nearly horizontal and parallel with thebar-plate a, but when the said saddle-bar has been turned through asemicircle into the position Figs. 4 and 5 the said safety-bar isinclined to the barplate, and the space between the said bar andbarplate is considerably increased in consequence of the inclined faceof the boss or bcaringsf. On the bearing or seatf of the bar-plate ajs astop, 7. Vhen the saddle-bar is in its backward or normal position,Figs. 1 and 2, it com esa gai nst the stop 9 on the bar-plate a, and thefurther motion of the said saddle-bar in that direction is arrested.Vhen the saddle-bar is turned in a forward direction through about asemicircle into the position represented in Figs. 1 and 5, thesaddle-barbears againstthe opposite end of the stop 9, and its furthermotion in that direction is arrested. The upper edge of the part c ofthe saddlc-bar, when the said bar is in its normal position, is nearlybut not quite'horvizontal, the said edge inclining upward from the jointend d. (See Fig. 1.) On the part c of the saddle-bar the stirrup-strapis supported, the said strap being looped thereto in the ordinary way.Should the rider be thrown backward, the movable part of the saddle-baris maintained in the position represented in Figs. 1 and 2, and the loopof the strap being pulled at a considerable angle with the top edge ofthe part c of the safety-bar, the said loop slides backward from off thesafety-bar, and the thrown rider is immediately lilr erated from thesaddle, Should the rider be thrown forward, the safety-bar is pulled inthat direction by the pressure of the stirrup-strap upon the under sideof the part c of the safety-bar. The safety-baris thereby made to takethe position represented in Figs. 4 and 5, and the stirrup-strap slipsoff the said bar, the space between the said bar and the bar-plate atincreasing as the bar turns on the pin 0. The wedging of the strapbetween the parts a and e is thereby effectually prevented. (See Fig.5.) Should the rider be thrown across the horse, the tension of thestirrupstrap in that case lifts the safety-bar into the positionrepresented in Fig. 3,-when the strap is immediately detached from thesafety-bar. )Vhen the safety-bar is raised into the position representedin Fig. 3, the distance between it and the cranked part of the barplatea is increased, and there is consequently no risk of the wedging of thestrap between the said bar and bar-plate.

The action which I have described with respect to the near-sidesafety-bar, Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, takes place with respect to theoffside safety-bar, Fig. 8, and the parts of the offside safety-bar aremarked with the same letters of reference as correspol'iding parts ofthe near-side bar.

I will now describe the double safety-bar represented in Figs. 9, 10,and 11.

c a is the foundation or bar plate, and k l are the two safety-bars,turning in opposite directions upon the bar-plate f. The safetybars is Zof the double bar are shorter than the single bar hereinbeforedescribed; but thejointing or centering of the said bars to thebar-plateis effected in the mamier before described with respect to a single bar,for the purpose of increasing the space between them and the barplatewhen the bars are turned in opposite directions from their normalpositions. The inelinedjoint-pins of the two safety-bars kl are marked,respectively, and Z and the inclined faced bosses on the bar plate (1against which bosses the inclined faces of the lower parts of thesafety-bars bear, are marked a and. a. The stirrup-strap is supported onthe flat tops of the two safety-bars is Z when they are in the normalpositions, Figs. 9 and 10, the said strap being confined between theshoulders pp of the said bars, and lying be tween the two safety-barsand the bar-plate. The meeting edge of the bar Z is forked at q, (seeFig. 11,) so as to make that edge slightly elastic; and the meeting edgeof the other bar IIO is provided with a tongue, 1", of a shape and sizesuitable to engage between the branches of the elastic fork q, when thetwo safetybars are brought together. bars is Z, when in theirnormalpositions, are thus held firmly together. I do not, how-- ever,limit myself to this arrangement of spring-catch fastening for holdingthe two bars together. The lower edges of the two safetybars have theinclined figures represented in Fig. 9. \Vhen the double safety-barrepresented in Figs. 9, 10, and 11 is used, if the rider is thrownforward the front bar, It,

turns upon its pin or center h and the stirrup-strap slides off the barsin l, the wedging of the strap between the turned bar and the bar-platebeing prevented by the jointing arrangement before described. If therider is thrown backward, the rear bar, Z, turns upon its center Z, andthe strap slips off the bars, no wedging of the strap taking place. Ifthe rider is thrown across the horse, the upward pressure of thestirrup-strap on the curved or inclined under sides of the safety-barsturns both bars on their pins or centers, and the stirrup-strap slipsoff them.

Safety saddle-bars made according to my invention can be made as lightas the ordinary spring-bars in general use, and are equally strong. Theyare consequently applicable to polo and steepleehase saddles, to'womenssaddles, and to saddles generally. They can be fitted to trees ofsaddles in use without damaging or weakening them. They have no loose donot form a lump under the saddle-skirt or interfere with the leg of therider. They are The two safety-' not displaced in altering the length ofthe stirrup-straps, and the position and height of my safety-bars arethe same as those of the ordinary bar.

Having now described the nature of my in vention and the manner in whichthe same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claimp 1.In a single and double safety saddle-bar, the combination, with thefixed saddle-bar plate, of the movable saddle bar or bars supporting thestirrup-strap and connected to the fixed bar-plate by a joint-pininclined to the lower end of the said saddle-bar and barplate, the jointof said bar and bar-plate being formed with inclined faces, for thepurpose and substantially as described and shown.

2. In a single and double safety-saddle-bar,

the combination of the inclined seat or bearing on the fixed bar-platewith the inclined joint part of the movable saddle-bar carrying theinclined joint-pin, for the purpose and substantially as described andshown. 3. In a single safety saddle-bar, the combination of the fixedbar-plate and an inclined joint-pin with a jointed or movable saddlebarhaving its joint arranged on the said barplate in an inclined position,substantially as described and shown.

4. In a double safety saddle-bar, the combination of the two pivotedsaddle-bars with the fixed bar-plate, said bars and bar-plate beingconnected by inclined joint-pins and joints having inclined faces, asdescribed and shown.

HENRY REES-PHILIPPS. [L. s.]

WVitnesses:

RICHARD SKERRETT, ARTHUR J. POWELL.

